Compliance notices for pleasure and non-pleasure craft

From: Transport Canada

Use this webpage to learn about compliance notice requirements for vessels that are built, rebuilt or imported in Canada. This information is for small vessel:

manufacturers
importers
operators
owners

A compliance notice states that a vessel’s manufacturer followed the construction requirements in place when the vessel was built or imported. Construction requirements for small vessels in Canada are explained in the Small Vessel Regulations and the Construction Standards for Small Vessels (TP 1332).

Compliance notice requirements

The Small Vessel Regulations require that these vessels display a compliance notice in a place that can be seen from the helm:

pleasure craft that are 24 metres or shorter, that can be fitted with an engine
non-pleasure craft that are 15 gross tonnage or smaller, that can be fitted with an engine

In some special cases, a compliance notice may not be required. For example, a vessel that was built or imported for personal use (in other words, not under contract or for resale). You can find other exceptions in Part 8 of the Small Vessel Regulations. Manufacturers and importers must create and attach their own compliance notices which should be based on Transport Canada’s format and specifications.

Find the format and specifications for compliance notices

If your vessel doesn’t have a compliance notice, was built after April 29, 2010 and is propelled by an engine, ask the manufacturer or importer to give you one. They are required by the Small Vessel Regulations to give you a compliance notice when you ask for one.

If the vessel was built before April 29, 2010, the manufacturer or importer does not have to give you a compliance notice.

You can’t be fined if the manufacturer or importer didn’t attach a compliance notice to the vessel. Anyone who removes or changes a compliance notice or attaches a compliance notice that contains false information can be fined.

You can have other compliance notices attached to a vessel, but you are still required to have a Canadian compliance notice attached.

There’s also one case when having a CE builder’s plate may be required. Personal watercraft built according to ISO 13590 Small Craft - Personal Watercraft - Construction and System Installation Requirements and after April 29, 2010 must have both the ISO 13590 builder’s plate and a Canadian compliance notice.

Types of compliance notices

There are two types of compliance notices: capacity labels and conformity labels.

For vessels 6 metres or shorter

The construction requirements for pleasure craft and non-pleasure craft have been combined into one set of requirements. The compliance notice states that the vessel complies with the construction requirements when it was built or imported (whichever date was most recent). The notice also shows the maximum number of people that can safely board the vessel. This is also known as a “capacity label.”

For vessels longer than 6 metres

The compliance notice must state that the vessel was built to the pleasure craft construction requirements or to the non-pleasure craft construction requirements. A compliance notice for non-pleasure craft also states that the vessel may be used as a pleasure craft. This type of notice is also known as a “conformity label.”

A pleasure craft longer than 6 metres can’t be used as a non-pleasure craft unless it’s modified to comply with the construction requirements for non-pleasure craft. These requirements include: